DePuy Orthopaedics, and the company’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson, face a new DePuy hip lawsuit filed by a North Carolina man alleging he suffered serious bodily injuries after being implanted with a defective Pinnacle hip implant.

According to the DePuy hip lawsuit, plaintiff William H. underwent two surgical hip implant procedures. He was implanted with a metal-on-metal Pinnacle device in his right hip on May 2, 2008, and later underwent a second metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implant procedure on his left hip on Dec. 5, 2008.

William later had the left hip Pinnacle implant removed through a painful and risky revision surgery, due to adverse effects he began to feel. He filed the DePuy hip lawsuit, joining an increasing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the companies, on Dec. 27, 2017 in Texas federal court.

The DePuy hip lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including negligence, manufacturing defect, design defect, inadequate warning, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and others.

DePuy Hip Lawsuit Joins MDL

William’s claim is filed as part of a large multidistrict litigation, or MDL, centered on allegations that the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System contains a design defect resulting in hip implant failure and other complications.

The alleged design defect has been blamed for metal poisoning, premature failure of the device, pain and suffering, inflammation, development of non-cancerous tumors and other problems.

The lawsuits allege that one of the biggest problems with the Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant is metal poisoning. This occurs because the metal parts of the device rub together as the patient moves around.

Friction between the metal components releases toxic particles, particularly cobalt and chromium particles into the bloodstream and surrounding tissue.

Possible complications include dislocation, bone fracture, fluid collection, immobility, loosening of the device, failure of the device leading to revision surgery, infection, pseudotumor, metallosis (metal poisoning), muscle, nerve, and bone damage, swelling and pain.

There are over 9,700 Pinnacle lawsuits pending in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. An MDL simply means that instead of litigating 9,700 individual complaints separately, the cases are heard through pre-trial hearings and discovery at one time. A “bellwether” trial can further encourage settlement negotiations between parties with the hopes of engaging them to resolve the case.

In November 2017, a jury verdict was announced in a Dallas court that told Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Orthopedics to pay $247 million to six people allegedly injured by the faulty Depuy Pinnacle device. This is the third trial in a row where a jury sided with victims over the allegedly defective hip implant.

The DePuy Hip Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-03497-K, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. The Pinnacle Hip Implant MDL is In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3:11-MD-2244-K, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.